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 THE STORY OF KINSALE
Kinsale, in
the south of Ireland, is known for its sheltered,
scenic anchorage and as a gourmet centre with
annual festivals.
But the packed history of this village goes back
beyond the 12th century when the church of St
Multose was built (currently requiring £30,000
for restoration), through eras when the community
could boast two dockyards (one Royal), the most
westerly naval port in Europe and silversmiths of
a high order. Its "Star Fort" is now a
national monument. Kinsale had its own giant, a
plasterer by the name of Patrick Cotter O'Brien,
8 feet tall, who died in 1806. It boasts a Holy
Stone, a White Lady ghost with a ghoulish past
and three victims from the Lusitania, one an
unknown woman. They were buried in the churchyard
in 1915.
The sea has now given up three cannons from an
early English warship, possibly the St Alban.
These are being restored for showing in the
Museum, which is housed in what was the Old
Courthouse, incorporating the earlier market
house of 1600 (built the year before Kinsale
was subject to a 100-day siege with the English
caught between the Spanish and Irish). The lower,
cobbled rooms are now being converted to reveal
realistic displays including working scenes from
a forge and smithy, a shipwright's, harness maker
and fish cooper. This addition will include a
fire engine, old city water pipes, a vapourised
oil lighthouse from Bantry Bay around the early
1900s, and a figurehead from the Atlantis. There
is also the macabre dog's skin used as a marker
buoy 200 years ago.
The upstairs room reveals the giant's boot, ships'
models and local lace, while the columned
frontage harbours heavier treasures including a
marriage stone with two sets of initials and the
date 1594. The custom has lapsed, but in the past
carved stones formed a central feature in the
homes of better-off couples.
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